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Red Christmas
Written by AL_365. On the 28th of December 2011 my friend Carl found a naked, middle-aged man stumbling through the snow behind his house. He was walking on a thin, barely-used path between the forest and Carl’s house, humming the tune of ‘Last Christmas’. The following is the account of the situation as Carl told it to me: I saw him from my first floor window. At first I thought a deer had come from the forest, they do that sometimes. But after a moment I realized there was this guy, walking past our neighbors’ fence and slowly approaching ours. I thought he might be from the mental clinic just a few blocks away and figured that he probably needed help. So I called the police, went out of the back door and during the few steps towards the fence tried to call my neighbor, but he didn’t answer, so I just left a message: “Hey, this is Carl. When you get this please come out to your backyard, there’s a strange guy walking around.” I reached the fence two or three minutes after I saw the guy first, but he didn’t get much further. He had just reached my fence. It had snowed several days in a row and the snow reached at least his knees. But he was stark naked, absolutely nothing on his body. I mean, his legs and arms were already blue, but from his face it was as if he didn’t even notice. He nearly smiled. You know, this scene was so grotesque, I shouted at him whether he was okay. And he looked at me and smiled, but said nothing – and he kept walking, if you can call it that. His walk war more a of a stumbling forward. Not exactly a surprise with his dying limbs, but seriously, how could he still walk? And, well, that’s not all. I didn’t see it at first, but there was dried blood on his face and chest. And still, I asked again whether he needed help, he again said nothing, he just kept his face in my direction, staring at me. But it wasn’t like he noticed me, he stared at me, but at the same time right through me. And he was humming something. I didn’t hear it at first, but when he got so close, he was clearly humming something. Last Christmas I gave you my heart… I don’t know what came over me, but I got out and stood in his way, just to stop him from walking, just to change something, just to make the situation better. I guess I still thought he might just be a retarded guy that somehow got lost or something. “Sir, please come inside. I think you need help.” He just ignored me. …and the very next day… “Sir, I called the police, they should be here in a moment. Please come inside.” That’s the first time he seemed to notice me. He was right in front of me at that point, and finally, as if he just noticed that he couldn’t walk straight ahead anymore, he raised his leg, then placed it down again in the same spot. He whispered something. I didn’t understand what he said, but it sounded like ‘waypoint’ to me. “Sir, I can’t understand you. Please come inside. You’ll get better if you come inside.” He whispered again. This time I heard it, barely: “I’ve been a bad boy.” “Sir, that is okay. You will be fine. Please come inside.” I must have sounded pretty desperate. But instead of replying he just said, calm like a stone: “I’ve been a bad boy. I will die today.” Then he started walking again, first towards me, then, when I didn’t move, he made a few steps to the side and tried to walk around me. I guess I should have tried to hold him or something, but I didn’t dare to do it. You know, like an injured animal, the last thing you want is that it attacks you. So I stepped back into my garden. And he kept walking, past my gate. That’s when finally the police arrived. I guess they must have parked in front of my house, but as no one answered they ran around it. They came from the side, from where the small path meets the street. Two guys, and they were holding a blanket. The guy had taken a few steps past me, and for the first time I saw his back. Man, I tell you, I’ve never seen anything like it. There was blood everywhere. And red marks, like from a whip or stick. And bloody holes, as if someone had cut pieces of his skin out. Man, it looked bad. Really bad. I don’t remember the details of what the police said to him, but it was surreal. They basically threw the blanket on him and wrapped him in it, and they talked about bringing him to a hospital and that an ambulance would arrive soon. But he still tried to keep walking. He mumbled something and I think the police didn’t understand. That’s when he shouted: “I’ve been a bad boy. I need to be punished. You will be punished too.” And then, when they were leading him to the car – I was just standing there, stunned by the whole situation – he started humming again. … and the very next day you threw it away. This year… The next day the news said that – after receiving a ‘tip’ from a victim – they found three corpses in a hut in the forest. All of them middle-aged men, naked. Two froze to death. One died from ‘blood loss’. They also found a range of whips, chains, hammers, corkscrews and drills. Scratched in the wall of the hut was one sentence: ”That’s what happens to naughty boys.”